Well That Went By Fast

Another year and another successful garlic harvest!

(33) cloves planted in the fall and (33) picked on Independence day!

Nice long, deep roots -

They're now hanging in my garage to dry -

I'll process them in a couple week, until then my garage smells garlicky

Let The Show Begin!

Here are some of the recent planting I've done around my yard -

This clump of Cannas are one of two that I over-wintered in my basement this past year.  I chose to plant it in the same spot I had it in last spring\summer, as it did very well there -

Added some Marigolds to add some color along my driveway -

These two flower pots, with "Main Street Abbey Road" Coleus and "Daybreak" Gazania will adorn my front stairs -

These Cosmos came from my farmer friend and have oodles of blossoms coming -

A current pic of how well all (33) of my fall planted garlic is doing -

Now, if only the sun would come out and stay, all my plants would surely take off!

Snowy Garlic

I took this pic yesterday morning before heading off to work.

Again, snow on April 12th, UGH, but it shows how well my garlic is doing despite the crazy ups and downs in temps we've been having. All (33) cloves I planted in the fall have survived and doing well!

Wakey Wakey!

Good news, all (33) cloves of garlic that I planted in the fall are poking through!

In the past when I planted my fall garlic they all typically started poking through before the frost and cold weather set in but NOT this past fall, so I was concerned.

Out puttering in the yard yesterday and I was super pleased to see each and everyone of the plants making their move!

Garlic Planted!

Busy day today and making quite a bit of progress on the ole "to do" list!

I got my garlic planted this afternoon!

(33) cloves planted - (3) rows of (11).

I used a half dozen of garlic bulbs that I grew and harvested this past fall!  Just look how beautiful those cloves look in the first pic and they're SO delicious too!

I gave the bed a good watering before calling it quits for the day.

Now we wait!

Garlic Garlic Everywhere!

Time sure is flying...

That being said, it was time to pick my garlic; the garlic I planted back in November.

And they look and smell DELICIOUS!

I planted 33 cloves in the fall and just last night picked 28 BIG beautiful bulbs!

They're hanging in my garage per usual for a couple weeks to dry.

It's Garlic Planting Time!

Another fall chore crossed off my list, yippie!

I planted my garlic the other evening.  Three rows, (8) cloves per row.

In years past I would order garlic from Sow True Seeds out of Ashville, NC.  They've been great to deal with and their product is terrific.  However, this year I decided I'd try planting some of the garlic I grew myself and harvested this past July.  Same difference really, just a bit of cost savings.

I chose the three BIGGEST bulbs -

Hoed and marked my rows, placed the cloves and covered with soil - 

Then spread a generous layer of grass clippings and leaves for some added insulation and protection from the coming winter.  In an effort to keep the deer from trampling over and through, as well as to keep the digging squirrels out, I wrapped the bed with 4' wire.

Fingers crossed come spring all (24) cloves takes off.

Garlic Picking Time!

I harvested my garlic yesterday afternoon, OH BOY!

BIG beautify, delicious looking bulbs!

I have them hanging in the garage, on a makeshift cloths line, where they'll stay for several weeks to dry.  After which, I'll trim the roots and the stalks, then store in the dark basement closet for storage.

Although, I did plant (33) cloves back in November, and even with the milder winter we had, I lost about half of the plants.  First time with such a loss.  Typically, they're pretty hardy and do well, so not sure what's to blame.  Disappointing for sure but thankful none the less and will certainly make due with these (16).  They surely will be enjoyed!

"Scapes" Have Been Removed

I removed the garlic scapes (flower stems) from the garlic plants yesterday.  Each with a simple snip of the scissors.  So, with the scapes removed, the plant will now put it's efforts and energy into the the plant, which should mean a larger garlic bulb to harvest later.

I used one of the scapes for dinner last night and sautéed it with the peppers and onions for my shaved steak sandwich!  I'm guessing it was very tasty, however, I still cannot smell or taste from getting covid back on May 14, alas.  Hope this changes soon! 

Spring 2023 Garlic

For some reason I lost a third of the garlic I planted back in the fall.  However, what remains is doing great and looking good!

I don't recall loosing so many in years past, especially since we had a relatively mild winter.  Perhaps, with little to no snow there was no insulation protecting the plants, so they were more susceptible to some of the bitter sub-zero temps we did have.

It's all good.  I'm pleased with what survived and looking forward to harvest time and ultimately eating time!

Back At It!

I placed my garlic order the last week of September, a 1/2 pound of German White hardneck garlic, which arrived in Friday's USPS mail - perfect timing! 

After taking a year off from planting garlic, I was back at it yesterday and planted 23 cloves in three rows.  Nice BIG and tasty looking cloves too!

They came in this nice bag with tag; (4) BIG bulbs -

Three neat piles after breaking the bulbs into cloves -

Turn and prepped the beg.  Then, I dug my three rows and placed a stake at each end -

Placed the cloves evenly apart, right side up -

And covered with soil - 

 

The next time I mow the grass, I'll spread a nice layer on top of the soil to offer some protection from the elements and coming cold and snow.

It's a waiting game now and already looking forward to July-ish when I can harvest and start cooking with!

German Red Harvest Success

I harvested our German Red garlic the other day!

German Red is a hardneck variety that I planted in November. 66 cloves planted in all with 62 surviving to harvest.  Very good percentage, however, the plants and the bulbs were smaller overall this season than in years past.  Guessing it had something to do with the weird weather we had.  No worries though, even though on the smaller side their smell is mouth watering!

Two 4'x8' raised beds, 33 plants in each -

Freshly dug -

Cleaned and hung to dry in the garage before trimming -

One of the two raised beds tilled, mixing in compost and grass clippings -

And We're Off...

The weather has finally broke.  It's more seasonal now and the threat of a frost has passed.  That being said I got some veggies planted; California Bell Peppers and BIG Boy Tomatoes, along with some Marigolds.

I always plant Marigolds in my vegetable gardens; along the outer edges.  They're great for attracting beneficial insects and other pollinators like ladybugs, hoverflies and parasitic min-wasps, all that prey on garden pests  They're also know to repel certain pests too.

I'll also be planting broccoli, cucumbers and some herbs once I find a farm stand that has some left.  Unfortunately, that's going to be it this year.  Was wanting to do corn again, since it was so successful last year, and some potatoes too but we're having our house painted something in June (date not set yet).  They'll be power washing the entire house and machine sanding certain bad areas.  Since our garden abuts the south side of our house, I need to leave the painting crew plenty of access and don't want them to dance around veggie plants.  Smaller crop this year is fine too.

California Bell Peppers, Broccoli and Cucumbers -

BIG Boy Tomatoes -

These two raised beds contain my garlic, OH YEAH!  I planted these in the fall last year and every clove planted has sprouted and grown!  There are somewhere in the area of 66 plants now thriving. Can't wait till it's time to dig these beauties up and start cooking with them, YUMMY!

Even the strawberries are looking terrific with oodles of blossoms -

German Red Garlic 2019

I planted my garlic back on 10\20, a variety called German Red.  I've planted this kind before, very hardy, does real well with the cold weather and tastes great!

1-pound equals 8-bulbs equals 66-cloves, planted in 6-rows equals 11-cloves per row!

I covered the two beds with a couple lawn mower bags full of grass and leaves to help protect from the coming cold and to keep the weeds down.

July can't come quick enough to harvest.

2019 Garlic Harvest!!

Planted 62 garlic cloves in November and harvested 62 BIG beautiful bulbs in July!  I've been lucky and have always had great success with garlic, and this year, as crazy as the weather has been, was no exception!

Hanging in the garage to dry before I process -  

Another hanging angle.  Ignore the mess -

So I did my own experiment with one garlic plant this year.  I left the garlic scape on a single plant, see below, and as predicted the bulb itself was smaller than the plants I cut the scapes off of.  I've read that by leaving the scapes in place to grow much more energy is pushed to this process.  On the flip side, when removed all the scape energy is then pushed into the bulb and making for a much bigger.  Seems I've proven out this theory...

A garlic scape-

A Long Internode That Forms The Basal Part or The Whole of a Peduncle

Oh boy oh boy, it's that time of year, garlic scape season, which means we're about a month out from harvesting our garlic!

A garlic scape is the thin, curly-q, vibrant green stalks that come into season late spring and early summer, see pic above.  If left unharvested, the scapes eventually bloom flowers when the garlic plant fully matures. However, the scapes are usually harvested before they flower so the garlic plant can channel all its energy into producing the most flavorful bulbs. The resulting scapes taste mild and sweet, like chives or scallions, but with a hit of unmistakable garlicky flavor that's softer than its bulbous counterpart.

I can't wait !

The Garlic Has Popped!

The garlic I planted in the fall is pleased with the warmer weather, rain and sunny days we've been having the last month!  Seem like they're doubling in size over nights.  Also, looks like every clove I planted (if I recall 62 cloves) have survived the winter and doing well!

Looking forward to tasting these bad boys!!